Thomas & Betts Sends 15 Winners of the “ Steel City 100” Promotion to the Richard Petty Driving Experience ® in Las Vegas
As the grand prize in the “Steel City 100” promotion, celebrating the centennial of the Steel City brand, Thomas & Betts rewarded five customers, their distributor partners and their Thomas & Betts sales representatives with a trip to the Richard Petty Driving Experience ®. The winners drove authentic NASCAR-style stock cars at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway on Oct. 28, 2005 in an event organized and hosted by Thomas & Betts’ Marketing Department.
The winners were selected from a random drawing of all Steel City 100 Promotion entries. Each of the 15 winners drove a 600-horsepower car, following a pace car, on the 1 1/2-mile track for three sessions: one session of nine laps and two sessions of 11 laps each. Instructors conducted a driving orientation for the participants before the rides, and pit crews supervised each ride. By the last session, participants typically drove at speeds that exceeded 140 miles per hour.
“It was a rush – very exhilarating,” said Denis St. Pierre, director, Estimating & Project Development for E.S. Boulos Co., an electrical contracting company based in Westbrook, Maine, and one of the winning end-users. “The cars went quite fast, but at the same time, it was very safe. The T&B folks were very good hosts and hostesses. It was well worth participating in the event.”
The winning groups were (1) Denis St. Pierre of E.S. Boulos Co. in Westbrook, Maine, Peter Levesque of WESCO in Portland, Maine and Thomas & Betts Northeast Sales Representative David O’Brien; (2) Joseph Pillar of Laser Electric, Paul Arruda of Graybar in San Diego, Calif. and Thomas & Betts Pacific Southwest Sales Representative Troy Ferguson; (3) Roger B. Thomas of R.B. Thomas Electric in Hudson, Ohio, Joe Dies of Graybar in Akron, Ohio and Thomas & Betts Mid-Atlantic Sales Representative Dennis Murphy; (4) Virgil Clark of Clark Electric, Richard Bergesen of Bell Wholesale Electric and Thomas & Betts Northwest Sales Representative Paul Stuppi; and (5) Daniel Mangialomini of Tri-Star Electric, Joe Passos of Schwing Electric, and Thomas & Betts Northeast Sales Representative Michael Di Guiseppi.
Dexter + Chaney Announces Dates, Location for Its 10 th Annual Users’ Conference
Dexter + Chaney, developer of the popular Forefront ® Construction Management Software employed by construction companies nationwide, has announced dates for its 10 th annual users’ conference: April 26-28, 2006, at the Bell Harbor International Conference Center on Seattle’s downtown waterfront. A record 490 Forefront users from 44 states attended the 2005 conference in April, also at Bell Harbor.
As in previous years, attendees at the 2006 conference will learn new and better ways to manage their construction operations using Forefront. They’ll share their ideas and suggestions for future versions of Forefront with Dexter + Chaney personnel and fellow users at roundtables for individual categories of construction companies and at user forums. The conference will feature more than 50 sessions devoted to individual Forefront modules and capabilities.
The conference will offer two other staples: a computer lab, where users can get answers from Dexter + Chaney staff to questions about Forefront that they’ve been saving for months, and great food and fun in one of America’s favorite cities. At the 2005 event, conference-goers attended a Seattle Mariners baseball game in the Dexter + Chaney suite at Safeco Field and enjoyed an upscale-but-Seattle-casual dinner at the popular FOX Sports Grill in downtown Seattle.
“It’s no coincidence that the 2005 conference drew a record number of attendees,” said John Chaney, Dexter + Chaney president and co-founder. “It occurred shortly after the launch of Forefront Version 12, which offered the most new features ever released in one version. We anticipate that the 2006 conference also will draw a great response.”
For more information, visit www.dexterchaney.com.
Cooper Lighting Donates Products to Hit ABC Reality Show
Cooper Lighting recently donated lighting fixtures to ABC’s Extreme Makeover: Home Edition to accommodate a 3,800 square-foot home just south of Rose Hill, KS for the episode airing January 8 th.
Cooper Lighting’s donation consisted of just over 100 HALO recessed lighting fixtures, including 4” and 6” aperture IC rated cans with black baffle trims.
Kevin and Cathy Nutsch and their five daughters were living in a three-bedroom home just south of Rose Hill, KS. In August 2005, the family traveled to Branson, MO on a family vacation in their refurbished old school bus. The day after they left, their home exploded from a propane leak.
The cast and crew of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, along with friends and family of the Nutsch’s, began the rebuild on October 11 using various products, including Cooper Lighting’s recessed lighting fixtures. Five days later, the two-story state-of-the-art dream home was unveiled to the Nutsch family.
“Cooper Lighting has been a long standing proponent of giving back to the community,” said Tim O’Brien, V.P. Marketing, Cooper Lighting. “Continuous involvement in projects such as helping the Nutsch’s recover from their tragedy demonstrates our commitment to corporate social responsibility.”
Cooper Lighting’s product was distributed to Wichita Roofing and Remodeling, the builder of the Nutsch house, through Cooper Lighting’s local distributor, Graybar Electric in Wichita, KS. The electrician on the job was Ziegler Electric, also from Wichita, KS.
“Cooper Lighting’s participation in this project has helped solidify our relationship with Ziegler Electric,” said Chris Rolen, Branch Manager – Wichita, Graybar Electric. “Very early on, Ziegler donated their labor to the job without knowing who was to provide the products and if the tight product delivery timeline could be met. Fortunately, Cooper Lighting volunteered and was able to get the correct materials to us with very short notice, and the contractor received everything they needed one day ahead of time.”
For more information, visit www.cooperlighting.com.
Dexter + Chaney Makes ‘Software 500’ Ranking of World’s Largest Software and Service Providers
Developer of Forefront ® Construction Management Software Named to List for Second Straight Year
Dexter + Chaney, Seattle-based developer of Forefront ® Construction Management Software, has been named for the second straight year to the “Software 500.” The listing of the world’s largest software and services providers is compiled by Software Magazine. Dexter + Chaney placed 398th on the list, with 2004 revenues of $12.5 million. IBM and Microsoft were first and second, respectively.
“We’re delighted to be included in this prestigious ranking, because it underscores Forefront’s acceptance in the construction marketplace,” said John Chaney, Dexter + Chaney co-founder and president. Chaney noted that many of the 840 new functions and features in the latest version of Forefront resulted from suggestions by the 1,000-plus construction companies throughout the United States that employ Forefront.
Forefront Version 12 offers a SQL database structure, an excellent tool for organizing and retrieving data that benefits construction companies of all sizes as they grow. It also features a Web Portal that gives a construction company’s employees and customers access to critical data and functions in Forefront—including payroll/timecard and customer service—from any computer with an Internet connection.
The Software 500, published as an online catalog on www.softwaremag.com, is a revenue-based ranking of the world’s largest software and services suppliers. The list includes both private and public companies; 28 percent of the 2004 Software 500 companies are private.
The ranking is based on total worldwide software and service revenue for 2004. This includes revenues from software licenses, maintenance and support, training and software-related services and consulting. Suppliers are not ranked on their total corporate revenue, since many have other lines of business, such as hardware. The financial information was gathered by a survey prepared by King Content Co. and posted at www.softwaremag.com, as well as from public documents.
For more information e-mail: info@dexterchaney.com or visit: www.dexterchaney.com.
Lenox® Hires New Director of Marketing for Hand Tools Division
LENOX recently announced that Lee Wilkins has been named its new director of marketing for its hand tools division. Wilkins comes to LENOX from GKI/Bethlehem Lighting, where he had been the vice president of marketing and product development since 2002. At LENOX, Wilkins will be responsible for the strategic development, commercialization and profitable growth of the LENOX hand tool offering, targeting the needs of professionals in the plumbing, HVAC, electrical and industrial industries.
“In Lee, LENOX has gained a tremendous amount of proven ability and experience in marketing and product management in the tool and home improvement business,” said Bob Heisner, president, LENOX. “Lee has made a substantial and long-lasting impact everywhere he has worked. I know he will do the same for LENOX.”
While his most recent position was with GKI/Bethlehem Lighting, Wilkins has several years of experience with hand tools through marketing positions with one of the top brands in the industry: Stanley®. He is a graduate of Kansas State University, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a specialization in marketing and management.
For more information, contact LENOX at 1-800-628-8810 or visit www.lenoxsaw.com.
Kohler Co. Acquires French Generator Leader SMDO, Plus BES and SOREEL, from the Meunier Group
Kohler Co.'s Global Power Group has acquired SDMO Industries, SAS ("SDMO"), a worldwide leader in the manufacture of generator sets and the leader in France; Béalas Energie Services, SA ("BES"), the largest generator set maintenance company in France; and SOREEL, SAS, a company that produces electrical equipment for distribution and control panels.
Kohler Co. purchased the three companies from the privately-held Meunier Group owned by the Meunier family. Headquartered in Brest, France, the Meunier Group is comprised of a mechanical equipment manufacturing business, a ship repair business, and the three energy equipment companies of SDMO, BES and SOREEL.
"Kohler Power Systems, which is Kohler's generator division, and SDMO together create the third largest generator manufacturing business in the world," said Kohler Global Power Group President Dick Fotsch. "This is a merger of equals, bringing together two premium companies with expert engineering, excellent products, and similar corporate cultures, given that they both are privately-held companies, well-managed and profitable."
SDMO, BES and SOREEL together employ more than 1,100 associates in France and at subsidiaries around the world. SDMO is a premium manufacturer of industrial generators up to 2,800 kW for production and standby use, and gasoline- and diesel-powered portable consumer generator sets. BES is the French leader in generator set maintenance, and SOREEL manufactures electrical control panels and automation consoles, of which SDMO is a major customer.
Kohler Power Systems is a leading manufacturer of complete power systems, including stationary, mobile and marine generator sets, automatic transfer switches, switchgear, monitoring controls, and accessories for emergency, prime power and energy-management applications.
Guy Coisnon, president of SDMO and SOREEL, and Deputy General Manager of BES said, "The association of each company's strengths enables them to benefit from important synergies, giving them formidable assets for the future."
